Capriccio & Fantasia in F-Sharp Major
by Radical Liar
Summary: Crack!fic response to 6x23: Castle wakes up after months in a coma and has amnesia. With a twist. Totally improvised, whimsical, tongue-in-cheek, insomniac reaction to an absurd season finale. Oneshot, complete.


Capriccio (n., ital.)

short instrumental piece, lively in character, brilliant in style and free in form

Fantasia (n., ital.)

instrumental piece in free form, often in the style of improvisation, alternating imitative texture and running passages

F#-major

Musical key with six sharps, rarely used, believed to convey triumph over difficulty, a free sigh of relief uttered when hurdles are surmounted; the echo of a soul which has fiercely struggled and finally conquered lies in all uses of this key (Christian Schubart).

* * *

The blaze blurred her vision. She could feel the heat of the flames engulfing her body even though she'd kept her distance from the burning car wreck. Why, she didn't know. The love of her life was down there and she just wanted to jump after him. Either to save him from certain death or perish with him together. She really didn't want to carry on without him anymore. She'd been through enough already and if the cruel fate decided to spit into her face like that, forcing her to bury her one true love after she'd already buried her mother fifteen years ago, then she was no longer interested in this sick and twisted life.

She felt a hand on her shoulder but couldn't bring herself to turn and tear her gaze away from the raging sea of fire in front of her. She heard voices in the background. Vaguely. Ryan? Esposito? Did they follow her? The grip on her shoulder tightened and whomever it belonged to propelled her around with physical force.

"Detective Beckett?" Her eyes met the concerned gaze of Chief Brady. He looked at her with a sympathetic smile. "Follow me, please?

Kate stood rooted to the ground. She couldn't leave him. Not like that. Not while he was still in there and there might be the smallest chance he was still alive.

"Detective, please, they've just stabilized him. You came just in time to ride with him to the hospital."

Beckett blinked her eyes a few times letting the words sink in.

"He's alive?" She looked at the man in pure wonder.

Chief Brady nodded, "Firefighters pulled him out of the car unconscious. His breath was very shallow but the EMT found a pulse." He grabbed Beckett at her elbow and steered her to the waiting ambulance. "It was touch and go for a while but like I said he's stable now and they're loading him up."

"What happened?" Beckett's voice was hoarse from the smoke and heat.

"We don't know for sure but we think someone forced him off the road. We've found skid marks but it's all speculative right now."

Kate nodded numbly.

"We'll keep you up to date, I promise, Detective. Watch your step," he warned her and guided her around a large rock peaking out in the ground. They finally reached the ambulance and Kate could see two paramedics busily working on her fiancé's body. She let out a gasp and Chief Brady knocked sharply on the bus. "Rosalie?"

The female medic finished inserting the cannula before she abandoned Castle's body and popped out her head, "Yes, chief?" Her eyes widened when she spotted Beckett in her white wedding dress. She looked at the chief in slight disbelief, "Don't tell me..."

"...he's the groom," Chief Brady finished for her. "This is Detective Beckett, the bride."

"Oh honey," the paramedic gave her a sympathetic look. "One helluva wedding day, huh?"

Beckett swallowed and muttered, "More like one helluva wedding week." She gathered the skirt of her wedding dress and felt Chief Brady's hand immediately support her elbow to help her into the bus. The other medic had come to the doors as well in the meantime and helped Rosalie pull Beckett on board.

"Don't worry, Detective, he's in good hands and he's stable now. Rosalie is the best." With that the young man scrambled to assume his place behind the wheel.

Chief Brady gave Kate another encouraging smile before he slammed the ambulance's doors shut and knocked on the bus again to give the driver the signal. Beckett watched Rosalie quietly work on Castle's body, poking his skin with needles, flashing light into his eyes again and again, adjusting his oxygen mask. Kate had never felt so helpless, not even when her mother had died. Back then she had been confronted with faits accompli and no matter how much she raged against the unfairness of life, there was nothing she could do to change the outcome. But this time it was different, she had to stand by helplessly and watch him fight for his life. Years of experience on the job filtered through her mind and compelled her to hold back, making sure she did not get in the way of the paramedic saving her fiancé's life. Let her do her job, a voice sounded in the back of her mind over and over.

"You can hold his hand if you want to," Rosalie broke the silence in the ambulance. Kate looked at her hesitantly, so the other woman pointed at his left hand encouragingly. "Go ahead, there are no burns on his hands, just be careful with the cannula."

Kate gently folded her hand around his. It was so cold, she almost jerked her hand back.

"That's the hypovolemic shock. Don't worry, you're not hurting him." Rosalie explained matter-of-factly, while she tended to the burns on Castle's right arm. Kate's eyes darted to her other hand and noticed with relief that it had been spared by the flames as well. At least he could still write, when he recovered. She knew he'd be devastated, if he lost the ability to write and type.

"I bet he was rushing to see you. He probably couldn't wait to marry you."

Kate smiled weakly. Oh, if only Rosalie knew...

"ETA 5 minutes!" The driver announced and Rosalie prepared Castle's body for their arrival at the E.R.

"What's your name, honey?" Rosalie asked Beckett.

"Kate. That's Rick."

"Okay, Kate, I'm Rosalie and Mark is driving. When we get to the hospital you have to promise me to stay in the back and let the doctors do their job, ok?"

Beckett nodded numbly, more tears welling up in her eyes.

"I know it is hard and you want to stay with him but I promise he is in very good hands. My best friend is running the E.R. today so I'm not just saying that to calm you down. She and her team will do everything in her power to ensure your fiancé will make a speedy recovery but to do that you have to let her do her job." Rosalie repeated once more and Kate nodded again. "You've been doing a great job so far, honey, and I know you won't let me down once we get there."

"What are his chances?"

"I can't tell you that. I'm not a doctor but I will say this I have seen worse crash and burn victims. He was extremely lucky that he only suffered comparably minor burns considering the wreckage he'd been trapped in for several minutes before they could rescue him. Most of them should heal nicely and completely. The bump on his head worries me though, he's been unconscious the whole time, so I can't verify any potential head injuries. It could be from the impact, smoke inhalation, the hypovolemic shock, any of which could have induced a comatose state."

"What about his pupils?" Beckett frowned, recalling her own medical training she received as part of her NYPD refreshers.

Rosalie smiled, "I see they train you well in the city, Detective. Normal reaction."

"That's good right?" Kate asked hopeful. Normal reaction meant not brain-dead. Even if he'd lost his pulse sometime.

Just then the car came to a stop and the doors to the ambulance were whisked open. From there on it was a flurry of activities flashing before her eyes. But it was not chaotic, no it seemed as if E.R. personnel and paramedics engaged in a well-rehearsed choreography, wheeling Rick into the building, past the nurse's station, passing on information about her fiancé's medical status and immediate treatment. Kate never took her eyes off of Castle, thus she never noticed the surprised looks of the other patients in the waiting room. A bride and groom in the emergency room is not something you saw every day. Since the doors to the E.R. had burst open, Beckett had been listening breathlessly to Mark, the other paramedic, repeating Castle's condition to the medical staff at the hospital. "Forty-four year old male burn victim pulled from a car wreck. First to severe second degree burns on arms and legs, possible head trauma, possible internal injuries and intracranial hemorrhaging, increased smoke inhalation. Hypovolemic shock, hypotension BP dropped down to 60/40,..." She lost track there because her head was spinning from all the medical jargon thrown out around her. She knew most of them in theory, had watched paramedics assess victims countless times as a rookie when she was the first on the scene, but she couldn't reconcile the information with the motionless body of her fiancé.

"You have to wait here," a nurse stepped in front of her and barred her from entering the E.R. "I know it's difficult but you can't be in here."

And so began the longest wait of Katherine Houghton Beckett's life.

0~0~0~0~0

They should be celebrating their wedding night, Beckett thought as she rubbed her thumb ever so softly over his pale hand. His breath should be ghosting promises of forever over her skin, not hooked up to noisy machines. The doctors had assured her that this was simply a precautionary measure because of the massive smoke inhalation. They wanted to give his lungs some reprieve to recover from the damage. They didn't show any signs of permanent damage but they wouldn't know for sure until he woke up.

"Katherine," Beckett felt Martha's hand come to rest on her shoulder.

"I'm not leaving," Kate shook her head.

"At least change out of your wedding dress," Martha sighed. "It will only take you a minute. Your father brought you more comfortable clothes to wear."

"What if he wakes up while I'm gone?"

"Then I'll come get you immediately," her almost-mother-in-law promised. Her look told a different story. Castle had not regained consciousness in the E.R. and the doctors had diagnosed a severe head trauma. Enough to ask Kate for her signature to open up his cranium, if the swelling of his brain was not significantly reduced in the next 24 hours.

It was almost midnight and Beckett had not left Rick's side except for the long and agonizing hours in the E.R. She looked down at herself. Her mother's beautiful wedding dress was dirty and smelled of smoke. As if reading Beckett's thoughts, Martha tried again, "Come on, kiddo. If you take it off now, we can salvage it for when you and Richard really get married."

Kate smiled weakly. Martha's optimism was unrelenting. Failure was not an option. Her son was going to get married to Katherine Beckett no matter what. "Hospital staff thinks we're already married."

"For their purposes you are." She held out her hand and helped Kate out of the chair.

Beckett bit her lip, "Are you okay with my decision? It all happened so quick, I didn't have time to consult you or Alexis."

"Yes, but we're not going to mention it to Alexis unless it becomes a necessity. I don't want to worry her." Martha implored the younger woman. They had both agreed that it was better for Alexis to not see her father like this.

"Do you think she'll understand?" Kate needed more reassurance.

"Katherine, you're family now, even if the wedding didn't happen. You've got power of attorney anyway since Richard's last brush with death in D.C. I'm not going to fight your decisions. And Alexis knows you want what's best for her father. That being said, let's hope it will not come to this."

"Okay. I'm gonna change, you promise you'll get me if there's any change in his condition?"

"Go kiddo. Can you check on Alexis while you're out there?"

"Of course," Beckett nodded, knowing Rick would want her to look after his daughter in this dire situation, "I need someone to help me out of this contraption anyway." She stepped outside and strode down the hallway to the ICU's waiting room in search of her father and future step-daughter.

"Katie!" Her father called her attention. He was sitting on the couch with his arm comfortingly around Alexis, who tore herself away and came rushing to meet her.

"How's my dad?" The young woman threw her arms around Beckett.

"Stable."

"When can I see him?"

"Soon, I promise. Right now he's in the recovery from surgery so visitors are extremely limited." Beckett used a little white lie. Jim exchanged a knowing glance with his daughter. He didn't remember a lot of things from the night of his wife's murder but he would never forgive himself for allowing Kate to accompany him to the morgue. There were certain things children were not supposed to see, no matter how old they'd grown, and he would make sure that Alexis would be spared the same fate as Katie.

"In the meantime I could use some help with this dress." Kate pulled back and looked at Alexis who nodded.

Jim reached underneath the seat and pulled out a duffel bag. "Here ya go."

"Thanks, dad."

"Umm... Beckett?" Ryan was loathe to interrupt the family moment. Kate whirled around with her arms loosely draped around Alexis' shoulder at the sound of his voice.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, guys, I didn't see you."

"'s ok," Esposito reassured her, "but can we talk for a moment?" Javi's eyes flicked to the redhead and back.

"I want to know. You don't have to baby me." Alexis's grip on Kate tightened.

"We talked to Chief Brady." Ryan explained, "The good news is this was not an attempt on Castle's life. It was an accident."

"Then what is the bad news?" Beckett wanted to know.

"Alexis, I'm so sorry but your father was run off the road by a bunch of drunk teenagers taking daddy's car for a joyride." Kevin gave the two women a pitiful look.

"You mean this was all some meaningless...?" Alexis looked at her father's friend horrified. "My dad is in there fighting for his life and it was just some fun adventure for a bunch of irresponsible kids?"

"Hey," Kate pulled Castle's daughter in for a hug. "They won't get away with it I promise."

"Wake up, Kate!" Alexis wrestled free from the embrace. "This is the Hamptons! They're probably some spoilt, rich brats and all they'll get for endangering my dad's life is a slap on the wrist!" She ran down the hall crying. Kate looked after her helpless, scratching her eyebrow.

"You should probably..." Lanie nodded in the direction Alexis had vanished.

"We'll be right out here if you need us." Ryan added, "Food, coffee..." He received a slap from Javi and a stern look from Lanie.

"Thanks guys." Kate hugged each one of them, lingering on slightly with Lanie before she went looking after Alexis.

"Coffee, bro, really?" Javi shook his head and glared at Kevin. "Why don't you go into Castle's hospital room and finish him off yourself if you're so keen to take over his place."

"Sorry."

"I don't know about you boys," Jim interrupted their quibble, "but I sure could use a cup. This is going to be a long night."

Little did Jim Beckett know, when he uttered those words, that the long night would turn into weeks of waiting. Once Kate had managed to calm down Alexis, she explained about her experience identifying her mother's body with her father. The young woman looked at Kate, realizing she was her age when it had happened. After a little protest, Alexis acquiesced to Beckett's wishes after she made the detective promise that if his conditioned worsened, she was allowed to see her father, just in case, to say good-bye. Kate felt a little bad about going behind Martha's back and telling Alexis about the extent of the head trauma but she thought under the circumstances it was better not to keep any more information from the girl. In the end it was mute because Castle's brain swelling went down 16 hours later. Beckett had timed it. She hadn't left his bedside for a single minute since she returned to his room, wearing jeans and a simple T-shirt. Except for when she had to use the restroom.

The following morning, two breakfast trays appeared magically in front of Kate and Martha. The story about the bride and the groom had spread like wildfire and the nurses had taken it upon themselves to look after the groom's mother and wife. While Castle's mom dug hungrily into the food, complaining a little about the bland taste, Beckett left hers untouched. No prodding and pleasing from Martha had any effect, so in a last ditch effort Castle's mom had the nurse issue a visiting ban if Kate didn't start eating to keep her strength. The days turned into weeks and Castle's lungs and surface burns began slowly healing. Once he was taken off the ventilator, he was transferred to a regular room in the burn unit. Castle looked much better and Alexis started to visit her father regularly. Lanie and the boys, as well as her father, had returned to the city because of work obligations, however, they visited Castle regularly on the weekends. Martha, Alexis and Kate briefly discussed relocating Rick to New York as soon as his conditioned allowed for it. The women in Richard Castle's life knew that they could not stay in the Hamptons indefinitely, especially when it became apparent that he would not wake up from his coma anytime soon.

"Good morning," Dr. McNelly, Castle's neurologist, greeted Beckett. "You know we'll start charging you room and board soon if you keep spending your nights here."

Kate smiled weakly at the doctor's attempt at humor, "It's your chef, food here is so delicious I keep coming back for more."

"Are you sure you're not the one with the head injury?" Dr. McNelly laughed. Gallows humor. It was the only coping mechanism Kate had left.

"You offering a free brain scan?"

"Damn, I'm fresh out of CT vouchers." The doctor patted her coat pockets for effect before she pulled up a chair next to Beckett. "Now let's be serious for a moment."

"Okay," Kate's voice filled with apprehension.

"I think it's time for your husband to see some specialists in New York. We've done what we can here but Richard is unfortunately no making the kind of progress we have hoped. We've successfully combated the brain swelling, his broken ribs are healing nicely as are his burns."

"What about the infection on his right leg?" Beckett interjected.

Dr. McNeely smiled, "Under control. I know that was scary and I apologize for the panic my resident has caused. He can be a little bit overzealous with the scalpel.'

"He wanted to amputate his leg!" Kate protested.

"I know. I made sure to keep him and all sharp, pointy objects away from your husband." The doctor grinned. "I know you carry a gun, detective."

"So what can these doctors in New York do that you can't?"

"Well, for once if we send Richard to a specialized treatment center, they will be better equipped to look after coma patients longterm."

Kate heaved a deep sigh.

"I know that's not what you want to hear, Kate, but we must face the possibility that Richard is not going to wake up anytime soon. The brain scans show no lesions, so whatever causes the coma, we need to find it. They'll be able to run more tests in New York, tests we cannot perform here because we lack the equipment. Unfortunately brain injuries remain unpredictable because we don't have enough research data. Every case is different."

"Okay, so what timeframe are we talking about here?"

"For the transfer?" McNeely looked at Kate for confirmation. She nodded. "Probably next week. But Kate, you have to prepare for a long wait. There is no guarantee he will wake up. I am sorry but it is the truth. I don't want you to get your hope up too high. You need to make arrangements for a longterm solution."

"But I can't just leave him alone."

"Of course not. But you cannot watch over your husband around the clock for the rest of your life." The doctor pulled a folded slip of paper from her pocket. "I wrote down the names of a few specialists that I can recommend. For your husband." She explained as she unfolded the sheet. "And I've included some resources for you, too, to help you with adjusting to life while your loved one is in a coma. You're not alone in this. There are others like you. It helps to talk."

Kate bristled at the thought of joining a self help group. She was never one to air her problems. She either took care of them heads on with mechanical precision or she ran from them as far away as possible. "I've got it covered."

"Someone professional?" Dr McNeely clarified.

"Yes," Beckett confirmed, "I've been seeing the department psychologist, mostly on and off, in the last year because I've been doing better."

"May I ask what this was about? I don't mean to pry and you don't have to tell me but I always try to include the whole family when treating my patients."

"PTSD," Kate nodded confidently, "I was shot on duty three years ago." She liked Dr McNeely because she had taken excellent care of Castle the whole time he had been here but she wasn't going to share the whole story about her mother's murder.

"Well, I'd like for you to give your doctor a call when you get back into the city. Doesn't have to be full therapy. I just want you someone to have to help you with adjusting to your new reality. It doesn't mean you're deserting your husband if go back to work, Kate, even if it feels like that right now."

Kate nodded slowly.

And so over the summer the three women in Richard Castle's life settled into a new routine once he was transferred to a Manhattan hospital. In order to deter Alexis from taking a term off, Martha and Kate compromised to rotate shifts at Castle's bedside while returning to their regular lives as well. Beckett had already extended her original three-week vacation by a one-month unpaid leave, and put in for reduced hours at the precinct. Captain Gates had graciously granted her request for another two months, clearly sympathetic to the ordeal her detective was going through. Ryan and Esposito were more than willing to cover for her anyway, and so Beckett headed over from the precinct to the hospital at 2pm every day. She always stayed until 10pm, when the night shift began. Graveyard was run by Nurse Ratched who had already kicked her out twice, reminding her that visiting hours ended at 7pm. Martha usually visited with her son in the mornings, and Alexis stopped by between her morning and afternoon classes. Sometimes they'd pass each other in the hallways.

"Hey babe," Kate leaned over the bed and kissed her fiancé on the forehead. Her nose wrinkled. He smelled like disinfectant she realized. One of the nurses must have given him a sponge bath when she cleaned his wounds, redressed his bandages and probably threw in that pseudo hair wash as well. And judging from the clean shaven face it must have been Vanessa's day today. It amused Kate to no end how Castle's three main nurses fawned over her fiancé and she knew he would love the fuss if he were awake. There was Jessica who preferred the scruffy look and always tried to persuade Vanessa to quit shaving him. And then there was Vanessa, the senior nurse who insisted Castle looked best clean-shaven and sometimes would even stop by to take care of his five o'clock shadow if her shift allowed. And of course, there was Reggie the male nurse who liked to make Kate laugh and surprise her with the occasional goatee.

She ran her fingers through his strands of hair, while she told him a little about her day. The nurses encouraged her to talk to him and engage with him, which was now a lot easier that she was back on the force. When she'd just been sitting by his bedside, she had often been at a loss what to say and started reading to him. She'd remembered the end scene Castle had written for Heat Rises, where Nikki reads to Rook and so she'd started reading him from the Nikki Heat books. If her day had been busy, she'd sometimes skip it in favor of talking shop with him, well to him. Quiet, rainy days like today were always perfect to indulge in a little more than a chapter or two. They'd already finished the whole series once and were currently on the second round of Frozen Heat. Somewhere around Chapter 8 she dozed off.

About an hour later she woke up to somebody stroking her hand. She blinked a few times, hoping it was Vanessa and not Nurse Ratched. She opened her eyes and found Castle smiling at her.

"Hey," She whispered softly and smiled at him with tears in her eyes. Her whole face lit up with surprise and joy.

"Hey," he croaked back hoarsely and cleared his throat.

"You're awake!" She exclaimed. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long." He reassured her. "Probably not even a minute."

"I love you," the words rushed out of her mouth and she pressed her lips softly against his. His mouth twitched, equal parts amusement and surprise at her blatant admission of love. "Don't ever scare me like that again!" She kissed him again and this time he responded in kind.

"Fat chance, now it's your turn to take a bullet for me." Rick replied.

"Huh?" Kate pulled back confused.

"Quid pro quo, you know, I save your life, you save mine. Your turn now."

"What on earth are you talking about? You were in an accident!"

"I didn't get shot?" Castle frowned and looked at her somewhat disappointed. He checked his torso and winced. "But it hurts right here." He touched his ribcage tenderly.

Kate grinned, "No, babe, that's not a GSW, that's a broken rib that's almost healed I might add."

"Still hurts like a son of a bitch," He felt necessary to point out.

Beckett couldn't help but laugh at his melodramatic expression. If only he knew that the broken ribs had been the least of their concerns over the past two months.

"You think that's funny?" He cocked his head at her.

"No," Kate shook her head and tears of relief sprang into her eyes again. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

He shook his head.

"I can call the nurse and see if they can adjust your medication."

"Nah, just a dull throb," he reassured her. "I feel fine."

"You look better," She agreed. The color had returned to his face. "I'm so glad to have you back." The tears were now running down her cheeks.

"You look good, too" He complimented her. "Hey, no crying, I'm alright." He moved his left hand sluggishly to touch her face, the muscles in his arm protesting the prolonged inactivity. He must have really scared her, he didn't remember her to be so... clingy. Rick cupped her cheek and gazed at her as if he was studying a painting. His concentrated stare made her feel slightly uncomfortable.

"What?" She prompted him.

"Did you do something with your hair?" He frowned and reached out to wrap one of her locks around his finger, "You look different. I remember it shorter."

Kate laughed out loud. Only Castle would pay attention to such nit-picky details. "It's a little longer," she admitted, "so is yours." She ran her fingers to his unruly strands of hair. "Haircut appointments haven't been exactly a priority over the past few months."

"How long have I been out?"

"You don't remember anything?" She looked at him for confirmation.

He shook his head, "Clearly not. I thought we were down at the piers in a wild west shootout."

"What?" Kate snorted, "What's in those drugs they've been giving you the past five months? They told me they cut off the sedatives weeks ago and said it was nutrition and fluids only."

"Five months, huh?" She nodded and he continued, "So what happened to me?"

"You were on your way to our wedding when a bunch of drunk college kids ran you off the street. You totaled the Mercedes and broke three ribs upon impact." She pointed to the same area he had gingerly inspected moments ago. "The wreck caught fire and you suffered first degree burns on your lower right arm," now she nodded at the bandages on his arms, "and left elbow."

"That's why the skin pulls." Understanding dawned on him and he slowly bent and extended first one arm then the other. He gave himself a full body check. He could see some slight discoloration on his skin, where he must have had deep bruises until not too long ago. He flipped back the bed covers in a panic.

"Don't worry, man-parts," she teased him, "the family jewels escaped intact."

He scowled when he saw the catheter. That son of a bitch was gonna hurt removing.

"What about my leg?"

"Very deep second degree burn, exacerbated by an infection. It's gonna take a little while longer but you're expected to make a full recovery and the doctors are optimistic that you'll have minimal scaring tissue. The burns on your face were minimal and have already healed completely. You'd also be an ideal candidate for skin grafting if you're worried about your ruggedly handsome good looks."

She expected a smart comeback to the last part but Castle was still processing all his injuries. "Wow. That's a lot... of injuries."

"That was one helluva burning car wreck the firefighters had to pull you out of."

"You were there?"

"I got there ASAP after I got the call from Chief Brady."

"Hm." Castle frowned.

"You were lucky you didn't suffer any internal injuries. According to E.R. staff a small miracle. You bumped your head, though. Badly. Like really bad." She whirled her finger at her temples, "The brain swelling wouldn't go down for the longest time and the doctors almost had to cut your head open to relief the pressure. You were already unconscious when they rescued you."

Castle started laughing out loud. "You almost had me there, Nikki. For a minute you really had me thinking I woke up with amnesia and forgot the last fifteen years of my life."

"Not funny, babe." Kate just shook her head, clearly not amused and in the mood for him to be messing with her after the ordeal she'd just been through. She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Wait," he tilted his head, "what year is it?" What if she was telling the truth and he had really forgotten the last fifteen years while he was in a coma. She did look so much... well, not older, but more mature. This ordeal must have really put here through the wringer. It was as if the spunk had left the girl and refined sophistication taken its place. Gone was the girl he'd met a few years ago. She was a woman now, an elegant woman in the prime of her life. She looked tired and exhausted but still oh so sexy. Fifteen years may be too much but five years were certainly within the realm of possibility. Losing five years of his life was still a daunting prospect. How much had their relationship progressed in the missing years? A lot if they were getting married like she claimed. Oddly enough he didn't find that information that disconcerting, he had absolutely no problem imagining himself spending the rest of their lives together. He thought he would have waited a little longer, at least until they'd dated for a whole year before he popped the question. He couldn't even remember declaring his love for her. Damn, this head injury was messing with his memories. Everything was so fuzzy. It was as if his memories became more elusive the harder he tried to recollect them. Wait, what if she said it first? Or maybe did she propose to him? Funny, she never quite struck him as the kind of girl who rushed into marriage. Well, whatever had transpired between them and led them down the road to this point, they were apparently engaged now. Maybe it had to do with finally solving her mother's case. Maybe that triggered a hidden desire in her for her own family. Maybe he'd picked up on that and thought it was worth a shot. He certainly had always felt that way about her, even though she'd brushed him off initially.

He waited with bated breath for her response and Kate got a queasy feeling in her stomach. Something wasn't quite right.

"2014?" She replied timidly and when she saw and heard Castle's relieved sigh, she smiled and added confidently, "Today's September 22, 2014." Oh thank god, she wasn't sure she couldn't deal with an amnesiac fiancé on top of everything. Hadn't she been through enough already with a horrific car crash on her wedding day followed by the love of her life spending the next five months in a coma?

"So the accident was in May?" Rick furrowed his brows concentrated. Phew that was a close one. Right year. No amnesia. Whoa dodged a bullet there. Come to think of it, he had been dodging too many bullets ever since he started shadowing her. Like literally. And he hadn't exactly shied away from adventure in the name of research before he'd met her. But that whole conspiracy behind her mother's murder really started using up the rest of his nine lives. No wonder he was so confused. Suddenly his face brightened, "You know I'm sure I'm just a little confused still." He tipped his temple, "It's all starting to make sense to me now, Nikki. When I woke up in the hospital, it must have triggered memories from last winter when I got shot and almost died back at the piers."

"Castle." Slight exasperation crept into her voice. Kate explained again slowly, "You were never shot."

"Castle?" He frowned but continued listening to her attentively.

"That was me. Remember? The sniper shot me at Montgomery's funeral. You were poisoned a year ago in D.C."

"Tisk, tisk, tisk, Nikki Heat. Losing track of your own cases now? Clinton Castle was the Rainbow Killer with the deadly virus. That was in May. The shooting was in January." He mock-lectured her. "And you know very well that I missed Captain Mont**roses**' funeral because I was still in ICU." He perked up and grinned, "Oh I get it! This is a test! You're testing my memory now to see if I catch your mistakes."

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no." Kate shook her head, as the reality of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks. That's why he kept calling her Nikki. She got up and pressed the call button frantically.

"Nikki?" He looked at her confused, panic now seizing him, too. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

The door flung open and Nurse Vanessa rushed inside, her face brightening up when she saw Rick sitting upright in bed. "Mr. Castle, welcome back. You had us worried there for a while."

"Nikki?" He looked around the room and then at Beckett for help, "Who's Mister Castle?"


End file.
